MMA icon and ONE flyweight Grand Prix tournament champion Demetrious Johnson could stay in Asia's premier martial arts organization for the rest of his career.
'DJ' recently sat down with Morning Kombat's Brian Campbell. In the interview, he talked about his ONE X mixed-rules bout with ONE flyweight Muay Thai champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon and where he is at in his career, among other topics.
Catch the full interview below:
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Near the end of the 30-minute conversation, 'DJ' was asked where he plans to spend the rest of his career. Being arguably the biggest name on the ONE roster, it looks like the MMA icon wants to stay in the organization for the long haul:
"I think so, yeah. I think this is my final stop. I don't see any other reason why, to be anywhere else. If I was to go back to the UFC, I mean, I've already been a champion there... I haven't been a divisional champion over in Asia so that's a [inaudible] goal."
Even if he decides to retire at this very moment, Demetrious Johnson has already cemented his legacy as one of the very best ever. Whether he decides to ride out the rest of his career in ONE or elsewhere, we're sure he will continue to be the gold standard of great MMA fighting.
"I got three years left" - Demetrious Johnson on how much longer he has left in his fighting career
Always transparent and humble, the former 11-time UFC champion also shed light on how many more years he sees himself fighting:
"So, I'm a realist. I got three years left. If I can fight some 39, 40 years old, my buddy Bibiano [Fernandez] is fighting still, but for me, it just takes so much time away from the family. My son, he wants to like, dirt bikes and I'm like, I train. I wanna ride it with him so there comes a point in time that it's like, 'Okay, I'm done with that. Now it's time to focus on this part of my life.'"
Beyond all the gold and accomplishments inside the cage, Demetrious Johnson understands that family will always be the most important thing in his life. They're the reason why he fights in the cage, after all. If he indeed has three more years left in his amazing career, then we better savor every moment of it while it lasts.